Frozen fish

[idun]

I often buy fresh fish when it is on offer and freeze it myself and am happy with it when it is defrosted.

But sometimes I buy frozen fish, not often as it is 'odd'. I had some fresh salmon in today, but decided I'd like a bit more in my dish and got a couple of pieces of 'shop' frozen salmon out of the freezer. It was as usual rubbery, but there again, that is how I find 'shop' frozen cod, or pollack too. What do they do to it. I thought that it was frozen very quickly after being caught and should be good, but the stuff I have bought never is.

 

 

 

[Pommier]

We've found the same thing. We always buy extra if there's a good offer on fish and freeze it, and that always defrosts and cooks the same as when it was fresh. On the rare occasion we've bought ready frozen fish it just isn't as nice - not too bad in a fish pie, but that's about it - and yes, I've had rubbery frozen salmon too. 

[Patf]

I never buy fish that has been frozen - apart from being packed in ice when first caught. Most fish that's frozen then thawed out loses its fishy juices along with the ice and ends up tasteless.

The exception is oily fish which freezes better - eg salmon, trout, mackerel.

You can tell fish that has been frozen by its dull colour, lack of sheen.

[NormanH]

I buy frozen fish from Picard, and find that the most successful are things like mussels and salmon filets.

I make up a sort of navarin de la mer with a salmon filet, plenty of mussels, a coley filet, and cook slowly with lemon butter and a little piment to give a bit of zing (sometimes I replace with garlic butter orPicard also do an excellent  seafood sauce frozen in lumps so you can use the amount you wish )

This makes a good tasty fish stew.

On the other hand once I bought one of those whole salmon from another shop that seem a cheap deal and it was frankly uneatable.

[idun]

NH said 'it was frankly uneatable'.

 

 

About 12+ years ago, on Radio 4 there was at least one program from Brittany talking to people who had moved to get 'the french life style' and cheap houses. They interviewed a bloke who was crowing about France. And his final salvo was that he could get a salmon for £1. And he could at that time, a frozen one. I had had this quite often, a bretonne friend would happily serve these if we went round........and that was about the best thing she ever served. We would eat it. We would have a good time, because the company was good. The frozen ones can get 'lost' in a fish stew or fish pie, if there is some decent fish with them and that is why I buy some frozen salmon fillets sometimes, even now, just to add these dishes.

[Val_2]

Yes, I used to buy four or five of these €2 frozen whole Pacific Keta salmon at a time and cook them up for the cats and then bag up into individual meals - worked out cheaper than buying Felix and made a change to their diet. We, however never liked them because however careful or what recipe you used, they always had a kind of fatty finish and the skin was to behonest, slimy which soaked into the flesh. OK if you skinned them for fish pie but as a main meal with sauce, not that nice at all.

[Patf]

I've bought those frozen whole salmon too, and thought they weren't proper salmon but "salmon trout" which are caught at sea. They have a paler coloured flesh than real salmon, and less flavour, and sort of scrawny.

[Val_2]

Did you find them sort of greasy/fatty too?

[osie]

I hate to say it but if you eat fresh fish cooked correctly then you would never need to buy frozen... Various fish is always on promotion so rather than just buying the one you know and freezing it, why not buy what ever in on promo and cooking that.

Where I am, for example for 6€/kg you can buy a mixed cut up fish pieces.  I would much rather that then something frozen.

Usually Mackerel is around 3.50/6€ per Kg.